Description

Fight to the DEATH in this unique card battler. Compete in intense one-on-one duels. Lead a riotous robot rebellion through randomly generated survival arenas. Overthrow a malevolent robot despot in the epic 15+ hour single-player campaign. Insane Robots is card battling... HACKED!
Insane Robots is a unique card battler with a brave tale of robot rebellion. Its a quirky, "rogue-lite" 2D strategy game where you battle for survival with token-based skirmishes in random-generated arenas. Each tournament brings tales of loyalty and betrayal; cold logic and insane risk. Power up your robot, lock down your slots, hack your opponent and launch your attack. Discover branching, reactive stories; strange and rare augments; special boosts that bring surprising twists; dynamic hazards like the acid cloud or ring of death; and deadly enemy robots ready to fight you and each other. Only a cunning player can survive the tournaments, unlock enough memory fragments and overthrow the Kernel to discover the terrible truth. Coming to PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 from Jul 10, 2018.

History

The core Insane Robots battle system was originally created in 15 minutes as a tabletop prototype using a pile of old business cards. This was only the start of a substantial physical and digital design process. The Playniac team has been playing and iterating the game since then, running tabletop sessions in their studio and at festivals worldwide during 2013-2014. Development of the digital game started in Jan 2015 and 15 people have formed the core team, including developer/designer Tom Kail (80 Days, Biome); developer Andrew Thorpe (Ori and the Will of the Wisps); artists Catherine Unger (Snipperclips, Detective Grimoire, Haunt the House, The Swindle), Fran Court (Hue, Stealth Inc 2, Frozen Synapse 2, New Art Academy 3DS), Belinda Leung (Total War, Pokemon Art Academy), Karen Teixeira (Twelve a Dozen, Oceans Heart), and Alice Duke (Fantastic Beasts, Lazarus); writers Yasmeen Khan (Fallen London), James Wallis (The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Paranoia RPG), and Charlie Carter; and designer/developer and Playniac founder Rob Davis (International Racing Squirrels, Cat On Yer Head, Anomaly X, Battlefield Academy). The game's soundtrack includes tracks by Noise 5000 and legendary French electro producer Kid Loco.

Selected Quotes

"Conquer a robot dystopia in cute card battler Insane Robots (...) Pick a robot, build a deck that matches their abilities, and get right down to throwing rectangles at each other like the robot god intended." - PC Gamer, Website

"Playniac's vision of a robotic dystopia is an extremely fun card-based strategy game... It only took fifteen minutes for me to realize I was on the verge of falling completely in love with this colorful and wacky world featuring zany robots... It's one of the most addictive twists on card battling mechanics I've seen... An easily accessible mixture of strategy and card-based attacks, which will reel you in almost instantly." - Shack News, Website

"The form of a catechism, in which a malfunctioning robot asks existential questions of an authoritarian robot whose answers make it clear that the robot will soon be fighting for its life in the Arena, while remaining frustratingly coy about the nature of that Arena." - Slate, Website

"A nuanced and polished dueling system which offered hours of strategic and chaotic fun... This non-traditional card battler has it all, and while it certainly pays homage to board games, traditional card games, and electronic competitors, Insane Robot stands out for its brilliant use of its mechanics... Insane Robots has captivated me. I intend to unlock every robot, see every card, complete every arena. The duel system is so much fun, and offers a creative take on card combat that is absent from the genre... It has a brilliant gameplay loop which has drawn me in... It has hacked the formula... It’s everything I never knew I wanted in a card game." - Indie Toaster, Website

"The writing is top-notch, very funny, terribly clever, and the characters are adorable little killing machines... If you love card battles, adorable robots, and tons of robot-on-robot violence, this is the game for you. Playniac has a real hit on their hands here... Insane Robots is an absolute hoot, and I’m very much looking forward to progressing further and blowing up all the weak, sad robots that are lining my path." - OnRPG, Website

"A laser-focused battle deck. With only 22 tokens, the game is easy to learn and manage, but full of unexpected turns and a lot of strategic depth." - PlayStation Lifestyle, Website

"The developers have provided every player with a streamlined battle deck. Insane Robots is truly a test of skill, strategy, and luck." - GameNader, Website